MC5

The MC5 (Motor City Five) was a hard rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan in 1964 and active until 1972. Their music also included blues-rock, psychedelic rock, rock & roll and garage rock. “Crystallizing the counterculture movement at its most volatile and threatening,” their far left political ties and anti-establishment lyrics and music would serve as a prototype for later punk rock musicians.

Their origins can be traced to the friendship between guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred Smith. Friends since their teen years, they were both fans of R&B music, blues, Chuck Berry, Dick Dale, the Ventures, and what would later be called garage rock: they adored any music with speed, energy and a rebellious attitude. Each guitarist/singer formed and led a rock group (Smith's Vibratones and Kramer's Bounty Hunters). As members of both groups left for college or straight jobs, the most committed members eventually united (under Kramer's leadership and the Headhunters name) and were popular and successful enough in and around Detroit that the musicians were able to quit their day jobs and make a living from the group.

They had a promising beginning which earned them a cover appearance on Rolling Stone magazine in 1968 even before their debut album was recorded. They had a reputation for energetic live performances, one of which was recorded as the critically acclaimed Kick Out The Jams. Their career was ultimately short-lived, though within just a few years of their dissolution, the MC5 were often cited as one of the most important American hard rock groups of their era: their three albums are regarded as classics. Their song “Kick Out the Jams” is widely covered.

On February 13, 1972, Michael Davis left the band (he was using heroin and forced out by the others). The remaining members recorded three new songs — "Gold," "Train Music," and "Inside Out" — in London shortly afterwards for the soundtrack of a film called Gold. This would be the band's final recording session.

The group limped along a while longer, eventually reduced to Kramer and Smith touring and playing with local pick-up groups, playing R&B covers as much as their original material. They reunited for a farewell show on New Years' Eve, 1972-73 at the Grande Ballroom. The venue that had only a few years before hosted over a thousand eager fans now had a few dozen people, and, distraught, Kramer left the stage after a few songs. The band broke up shortly afterwards. Find out more about them at their official website: http://www.davis-kramer-thompson.com/

Research info gathered at: http://www.lastfm.com/

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